Months of lockdown have offered many of us the opportunity to reflect on how we could improve the aesthetics of our home. As multiple furniture and home renovation stores closed their doors in reaction to the pandemic, design enthusiasts turned to apps to move forward with their home improvement plans.
As some homeowners might be tempted to give their walls a makeover, Pantone has launched a new tool that will help them match any color in real life to a similar shade available in the company’s catalogue.
The Pantone Color Match Card takes the form of a laminated paper-board card, whose dimensions are similar to those of a traditional credit card.
This new tool is currently available to purchase for $15 as a pack of 25 via Pantone’s website.
Before using the card, DIY enthusiasts have to download the Pantone Connect app on their smartphone in order to measure and match any colored surfaces, materials and objects to Pantone Color.
Users must then place the small Pantone Color Match Card on top of the solid color of their choice and align the smartphone’s camera at a certain angle to find the closest matching shade in the company’s catalogue.
Meanwhile, Etsy has turned to augmented reality to help us find the perfect piece of art for our interiors. The company’s new iOS app lets users preview over five million paintings, photographs and prints in the “Art and Collectibles” category directly into their own personal spaces.
Additionally, the app allows wannabe interior designers to test different sizes by zooming in on the item on offer.
The Android functionality is not available yet, although the e-commerce company “hopes to make the feature available for Android users as soon as possible.”
“Our continued investment in new technologies like augmented reality is helping to ensure that we’re well-positioned to connect buyers and sellers through the most challenging times. And because our listings are handmade or vintage, they’re often one-of-a-kind, so the more that we can do to help buyers visualize items before they check out, the better for our sellers,” Kruti Patel Goyal, Etsy’s Chief Product Officer, told Mashable.
While a growing number of furniture retailers are wooing a tech-savvy millennial clientele with new apps, IKEA has long been a pioneer in the trend.
In 2017 the Swedish retailer notably launched augmented reality functionality, dubbed IKEA Place, in its signature Store app.
Indecisive shoppers can notably browse through a selection of over 2,000 IKEA products before committing to purchase any piece of furniture or home decorating item on the Swedish retail’s website.
“Augmented reality and virtual reality will be a total game changer for retail in the same way as the internet. Only this time, much faster,” Michael Valdsgaard, leader of digital transformation at Inter IKEA Systems, said of the launch of IKEA Place in a statement.
